A/N: Another long one, yeah? In fact, it may be over 1000 if I write this long enough, and that's real long for me.
So I've got a cough. I imprinted it onto darling little Tony here. Please don't eat me… D:
Disclaimer: My echo is the only voice coming back, shadow is the only friend that I have… You think that's depressing? Try not owning NCIS.
He can't stop this damn coughing. It starts off just a mere tickle in his throat that is seemingly slain by a gulp of coffee. When he does it again, warm liquid doesn't seem quite enough to vanquish it once more, so he holds his breath, hoping the burning sensation up his neck will at least die down.
Again, it seems to, then returns, and before he knows it he's full on coughing all over his desk and extremely important paperwork. He opts for the easy way out, and drops his paperwork onto his boss's lap without a second read-through. By the time he reaches the confines of the elevator, he can't stop coughing and uses his arm to cover his mouth, with as much decorum as he can manage. And if he thought the drive back to his apartment was difficult, the mountain of stairs he has to ensure due to the lack of an elevator are near impossible. He's completely breathless when he reaches his door, and the coughing only worsens to the point of hacking over the lock.
Sleep doesn't come easily to him that night, and upon wakening, his throat feels completely raw and extremely painful. Work is out of the question, he realizes, so he calls the one person he thinks could get him out of the wrath of Gibbs.
"Hello, Tony." she says, a smile evident in her voice, and he gulps before speaking.
"Zi-" he attempts, his voice cracking. Clearing his throat, more choking ensues before he tries again.
"Ziva... I don't think I'll make it into work today." he croaks, his voice only just holding out long enough to speak.
She's clever enough to know what's wrong, judging by the spitting up coming from her partner's end, so doesn't bother asking what the matter is. Instead, she says she'll tell Gibbs and makes a promise to visit him soon. He utters a vague word of thanks before climbing back underneath his sheets and catching up on some much needed sleep.
He awakens to the feel of a warm hand on his lower back that jolts him to attention and the realm of the working. A laugh drifts to his ears, and he suddenly realizes who the addition is. Rolling over with such force the sheets drag with him and pull her along, he greets her with a smile that is 100% genuine. She laughs again, and places her hand on his torso, her finger resting in the dent of one of his muscles. At that, he tries to greet her, but all that comes out is a squeaky, garbled noise, to which they both grimace.
"Hello." she says with a smile. He nods and grins in reply, before his lungs decide to expel all air from them yet again. Heaving him up and turning him to be sat on the edge of the bed, next to her, she thumps his back repetitively until the wheezing slows down.
He ends up winded, almost, from his coughing, and breathing becomes extremely difficult. He is very grateful, therefore, for the water and medicine she has brought him, lukewarm and sickly sweet as they are. They talk when his voice decides to function adequately, but mainly she tells him of the case, and speaks that Abby did something, and rubs his back. When he falls asleep on her shoulder, still sitting on the edge of the bed, she gently lowers him down and puts the sheets over him, leaving the medicine and a note by his side.
He's awake when she next stops by, and has been for quite some time. In fact, when he hears the latch click, a quick glance to the clock tells him it's well into the early hours.
"Hey." she says, waltzing tiredly into his bedroom, leaving her keychain on the table next to him. Part of him notices how domestic that is, but the other part of him notices how she yawns very indiscreetly.
"Work late?" he asks, his voice a little stronger due to a variety of reasons. Again, the domestic factor crops up in his head.
"Paperwork." she says with a shrug. " I see your voice is better? Did the medicine help?" she continues, to which Tony responds with a nod, his stomach twisting unknowingly at the fact that she came to visit him instead of going home and sleeping.
She yawns widely again, and at that, Tony makes up his mind.
"That's it, you're staying here tonight." he says firmly, getting up and grabbing some sweatpants and a T-Shirt of hers, leaving no room for argument. He coughs again, as if to emphasize the point, and she agrees with a nod, taking the clothes and walking to the bathroom. A grin of satisfaction spreads itself across his face and he's so very glad, all of a sudden, that she'd left those clothes one day.
When he clambers back under the sheets, she joins him a second or two later, and no other words are exchanged before they drift off at opposite sides. They wake up, however, pulled almost flush with each other, and he only pulls her tighter on discovering it. She buries her head impossibly into his chest and is far from embarrassed when she wakes up. And even though it's the weekend, and his cough is minute once more, she stays with him all day and all night. And the one after that. And after that. In fact, she's never apart from him officially ever again.
A/N: Hooray! Over a thousand. Just. Feel free to review if you want.